When Three Shots Are Not EnoughI pitched this story after noticing many immunocompromised people talking about, or asking about, getting additional, unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine shots. The story published above the fold on the front page of the New York Times, got over 600,000 views, and garnered positive feedback from readers. After the story published, I worked with an audio producer to record an audio version of the story and did an interview with a colleague on the subject that was featured in a coronavirus newsletter.
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How to Report With Care on DisabilityAfter running a newsroom session for colleagues and giving basic tips for reporting on disability, I was approached by an editor who had found the session incredibly informative and wanted me to write something on the topic for our audiences to help explain my reporting and thought process. This short but straightforward article gives insight into who I am as a reporter and how I think. It had a profound impact, leading multiple readers to email me saying that they had "learned something new," and many more emails thanking me. Because of this short column, I was also asked to give guest lectures in journalism classrooms around the world.
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Baby Formula Shortage Reveals Gaps in Regulation and ReportingI was asked to collaborate on this story because of my background in science and my ability to connect with everyday people that have faced challenges. Given just three days as our original deadline, I quickly tracked down several families whose children had battled cronobacter infections, as well as expert sources knowledgeable about baby formula manufacturing and the bacterium Cronobacter sakazakii. In addition to fact-checking each of my own sources with medical records and scientific studies, I was part of a team of talented reporters digging into records of plant inspections, manufacturing regulations and public comments about proposed regulatory changes for the industry. In the end, my reporting proved to be so valuable that I earned the honor of the lead byline on the piece.
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Vulnerable to the Virus, High-Risk Americans Feel Pain as the U.S. Moves OnAfter reporting on immunocompromised people who were seeking additional shots, I received a lot of reader mail from this population, thanking me for paying attention to them. A common theme many of them expressed was feeling "forgotten." After speaking with my editor about it, I teamed up with a political reporter, Maggie Astor, to write this article, which takes an intimate look at my source's lives while also explaining broader political context. This story was featured above the fold on the front page, attracted over 330,000 page views and garnered thousands of comments across our website and social media. I then worked in studio with an audio producer to record an audio version of the story.
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A mostly unregulated stem cell industry is thriving in ArizonaThis year-long project took me many places. I visited stem cell clinics, attended stem cell seminars, watched stem cell procedures, and got a glimpse inside one patient's world. I also created an original dataset and analyzed it to figure out where the majority of stem cell clinics were based and what types of treatments they offered. The result of my work was a six-part investigative series.
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Another Struggle for Long Covid Patients: Disability BenefitsI interviewed nearly a dozen Long Covid patients and conducted extensive verification of their stories. The story was promoted on the front page of the New York Times and generated a lot of positive feedback.
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High Demand for Drug to Prevent Covid in the Vulnerable, Yet Doses Go Unused When I interviewed people in early January who were seeking fourth or fifth shots, some of them told me it was because they weren't sure whether they would be able to get a preventative monoclonal antibody treatment, called Evusheld, because supplies were scarce. I was curious to dig deeper into this phenomenon and paired up with Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington correspondent covering health policy, to figure out what was happening with this drug and why patients weren't getting it. The story was featured on the front page of a Sunday edition of the New York Times.
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For Blind Internet Users, the Fix Can Be Worse Than the FlawsI pitched this story to the technology desk and interviewed about a dozen different people who are blind for the story, along with technology experts and three of the biggest companies offering automated accessibility solutions. In a few of my interviews, I got on Zoom with my sources and watched as they demonstrated how these different tools worked and went through basic tasks that they might carry out online with and without these tools, such as shopping.
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How researchers hope to preserve and restore 'biocrust'I was in a learning seminar about desert plants (for fun) when someone mentioned biocrust. I decided I needed to learn more and stumbled across fascinating research being done in Arizona to restore the disappearing organism. For this story, I shot and edited video, shot photos, and worked with an AR designer to re-create the inside of a biocrust research laboratory.
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Mobile home residents hit with soaring rent after hurricanesI traveled to Robeson County, a low-income area pummeled by hurricanes, and visited the homes of three residents struggling with increasing rent. I obtained and analyzed real estate and property records to determine when a company had bought mobile home parks and how many they owned. I filmed and edited a video, which published with the story. The story won an honorable mention for the AP's "Best of Week" recognition.
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A Future for People With Disabilities in Outer Space Takes FlightFor this story, I conducted interviews in both English and American Sign Language. The story was featured on Science Times and was featured in an end-of-the-year 2021 New York Times newsletter roundup of "overlooked stories that are worth revisiting." I was interviewed on NPR's 'Short Wave' for this story.
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As disease threatens citrus trees, researchers target the insects that are spreading itI visited laboratories of trees covered in tiny Asian citrus psyllids and visited three citrus farms, taking photos and video along the way. I also worked with an AR artist to create a 3D rendering of an orange with citrus greening disease and worked with digital producers to create scrolling effects on the story.
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Residents hit by 2 hurricanes face wait for long-term fundsI traveled the homes of three people whose homes were destroyed by hurricanes and who were still waiting on relief. I requested and obtained data from the state of North Carolina on the pace of hurricane recovery spending and pitched a graphic based on my data analysis. On humid, hot day where the temperature climbed over 100 degrees, I lugged around equipment and shot video for the story. I later edited the video, which published with the story. The story was nominated by my boss for the AP's "Best of States" recognition.
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Families of High-Risk Children Despair Over Covid ResurgenceA story doesn't need to be long to have a big impact, it just needs to be well written. This short story I wrote was recognized by leadership for its incredible social engagement and garnered hundreds of comments online.
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An ASU researcher is working on a virus that's harmless to humans, but kills cancer cellsWhen Grant McFadden started telling me about his virotherapy treatment, my mind was already at work, trying to figure out the best way to visually convey the story. I got experimental and created a video using my own watercolor art skills. I conceptualized the story visuals and edited the audio for the video. My boss liked it so much, she asked me to make another watercolor video in the future.
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For Some College Students, Remote Learning Is a Game ChangerI worked collaboratively with New York Times science reporter Emily Anthes on this story, which was featured on the front page of a New York Times section front. The story received praise for its nuanced look at how students with different types of disabilities feel about remote learning.
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Understaffed And Overworked: Firefighters Exhausted By Severe California FiresInterviewing firefighters on the front lines means being ready to take a call at all hours of the night and waiting for them to finish their shifts. In addition to these personal interviews, I analyzed data from five California counties to find that overtime pay as a percentage of overall pay had steeply risen for firefighters. The story garnered praise from NPR's leadership.
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‘We Didn’t Have a Plan’: Disabled People Struggle to Evacuate From WildfiresSometimes the story is about who is being left out. I explored the ways in which people with disabilities are often most vulnerable to wildfires, how emergency responses previously failed to account for them, and what efforts were underway to improve emergency planning for disabled people.
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Deaf And Unemployed: 1,000+ Applications But Still No Full-Time JobWhen Starbucks opened a "Signing Starbucks" in Washington D.C., many newspapers covered the news in a positive light, but missed the fact that some of Starbuck's newly hired baristas had Master's degrees in unrelated fields. I wanted to dig deeper into the issue of employment for those with disabilities. In this first part of a two-part series, I examined the reasons why deaf individuals had trouble securing full time employment. In the second part of the series, I showcased deaf peoples' efforts to find solutions to these issues.
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‘I Wanted That Self-Reliance Back’: Disabled Hikers Forge a New Path Hiking alongside of multiple sources in both California and Florida for this story was a joy, but it also gave me a much deeper understanding of the challenges and barriers they faces in trying to access hikes. This story also garnered some of my favorite reader mail and feedback from disabled hikers thanking me for either bringing attention to the issue, or for inspiring them to start hiking.
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UA researchers working on tests to detect COVID-19 antibodies in people without symptomsOver time in Arizona, I developed relationships with sources, scientists and researchers who would tip me off and give me exclusive interviews on certain stories, such as this one. For this story, I directed a graphics designer to create simple charts explaining how antibody tests worked. This reporting was used in a larger, nationwide USA Today story that I collaborated with other reporters on.
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Classes Take Trips Around The World Through This GameI visited a classroom in Virginia to follow a class of students as they played a new game intended to improve their geography skills. As a one-woman band, I juggled taking photos, conducting interviews, jotting down notes, and collecting audio during the visit. I then wrote a digital story and on-air script, rough-cut my audio and recorded myself in studio. The story aired on NPR's 'All Things Considered.'
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As researchers try to understand new coronavirus, fear among Chinese students at ASU growsNo science reporter can forget their first COVID-19 story. This one is mine. Published the same week that Arizona had its COVID-19 case, I visited campus, interviewed students and researchers, and shot photo and video footage. The story focused on the concerns and fears of international students from China, who had a better understanding of how serious the virus could be. I also created a simple graphic to demonstrate the idea that the new coronavirus was genetically similar to SARS.
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What is the typical timeline for a COVID-19 infection?During a pandemic when it was difficult to get photos from inside of laboratories or figure out ways to visually represent information about the novel coronavirus, my boss asked if I could do another watercolor video to help easily explain the basics of how a COVID-19 infection progressed. I set up my watercolors on my kitchen table, got creative with my camera positioning and created this video.
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Does heat kill COVID-19? How long can the new coronavirus live on surfaces? We asked the expertsI believe the best journalism serves its readers and that's why I'm proud of this piece. Working collaboratively with others in the newsroom, we set up a COVID-19 question hotline that readers could use to get their questions about COVID-19 answered. I was in charge of the Ask-An-Expert project, where I took scientific questions and talked directly with multiple researchers to figure out what we did or didn't know at the time. We got a lot of questions and readers thanked me for finding the best answers and offering the best analysis I could.
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What Does a Forehand Winner Sound Like? Clink, Blip-Blip-Blip!I immediately thought of the audio potential in this story and reached out to an audio producer at the New York Times to see if she'd be interested in collaborating. The result is a fun listen along with the written article.
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